Arrows aren’t meant for merging

Q: I recently starting travelling Troy-Schenectady Road on a daily basis on my commute to work.

On my way home, I travel east from Schenectady, making the left turn at the on-ramp to merge for 87 North. I usually travel in the right lane, since I circle onto Route. 9 from there.

In the time that I’ve been making this drive, I have seen or been part of a number of near-misses from the traffic merging onto the on-ramp traveling west to 87N. It seemed to me in more than one instance, the drivers that were merging were paying no attention to the yield signs, and since the drivers making the left turn have no yields at all, the traffic merging should be giving way.

Unfortunately, more than once, there’s been a car slamming on the brakes and cutting into the shoulder to clear traffic, or worse, someone actually on the on-ramp having to cut into the left lane to avoid the car barreling onto the on-ramp, having blown through the yield signs at the merge.

I was traveling that stretch the other day, west on Troy-Schenectady Road, and it was me making that merge into the traffic on the on-ramp. Imagine my surprise to see that there are two green arrows indicating the right merge onto the on-ramp that remain green at all times, regardless of the green light giving right of way to drivers making the left turn off Troy-Schenectady Road. Obviously, the yield signs should be observed, but it seems that most drivers are assuming that green means go, and the yield signs are optional.

It seems to me that the arrows should be yellow, or on a cycle that coincides with the other lights. Is this something you can check into?

— Bethany Olsen, Cohoes

A: “Your reader brings up a great question and hopefully the answer will be helpful to a lot of commuters,” said Carol Breen, the spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

The arrows stay green unless someone who is walking makes them change, she said.

“The arrow signals are part of a pedestrian signal system just east of the Exit 6 interchange,” Breen said. “When activated by a pedestrian, it stops traffic in both directions, including traffic heading onto the ramp, so the pedestrian can cross safely. There is another pedestrian signal on Route 7 just west of the Exit 6 intersection, and these lights also only turn red when a pedestrian activates the signal to cross. There are many businesses in this area, and it would be dangerous for pedestrians to navigate without signals that completely stop traffic.”

The merger point does not have a signal and is controlled by a yield sign.

“It is very important that drivers obey all traffic signs and signals,” Breen said. “Once past the traffic light, motorists must yield to traffic before entering the ramp.”

And despite the near misses you’ve witnessed, Breen said, there have not been any reported accidents there.

Tim O'Brien

5 Responses

O.K., Ms Breen, just how do you plan to get the word to those commuters? I’m sorry to say that many drivers have some sort of entitlement mind-set that makes them believe everyone should/will/must get out of their way.

DOT has bigger problems in that area. Spend some time watching the evening commuters traveling westbound on Alt. 7, and you will see some very creative ways they try to avoid delays. One tactic involves exiting to the Rt 9/Rt 9R intersection then making an illegal u-turn onto the northbound ramp. Another is to proceed soutbound to Exit 6, staying in the left lane, then returning to I-87 northbound.

DOT certainly over did it at this SPUI compared to SPUI’s in other states! lathamguy makes a great point. There is a no U-turn sign at the end of the 9/9R ramp. It IS legal to make a U-turn at a traffic signal displaying a left arrow, UNLESS there is a “No U-turn” sign.

I have also thought about those green arrows Bethany asked about. Unfortunately I disagree with Carol’s response about once you go past the signal (If what she said was true, at other traffic signals if you creep JUST past a green “through” signal, you could turn left on the far side of the intersection even though there was a red left turn arrow above and behind you!) Where the lane from Rt 2 West abuts the 2 lane ramp, there are white triangles on the pavement. The triangles are the Yield equivalent to a stop line. I don’t think too many people understand the white triangles.

Even though DOT is states there are no reported incidences there they fail to realize the stress that Bethany is describing. The commute is very stressful because of all the near misses and commuters failing to understand how to properly obey signals and signs. This is a problem everywhere because of the “entitlement” mentality. I believe there should be a written test given every so many years to hold drivers accountable to their knowledge of driving. If driving is a privilege then it should be earned every so many years.

I don’t come along that section that often, but Google helped in refreshing my memory. There is a yield sign and a suggested stop line (the small white triangles on the road).
Would turning the light to red help, probably, but I wouldn’t count on it. There are plenty of drivers that blow right through red lights at that SPUI assuming that right on red means not stopping at all. Since the ones who have to yield before merging onto the ramp will have a red for the right turn they may just do what they do right now.
In the end, it comes down to drivers not yielding and stopping. More tickets and better driver education might have more impact.